Purple Varnish/Savory clam questions

fishinlady97140 · 05-29-2006, 02:40 PM

We have some Purple Varnish clams and had them in the fridge in salt water with some cornmeal for them to feed and flush themselves...I don't think they've ever come out to eat! Are they ok? They've been in the fridge since we harvested them Saturday -- too cold for them? Are we gonna die if we eat them? They're closed up tight like clams! :-)

Flush Release · 05-29-2006, 05:00 PM

Cook them and if they don't open up pitch them.

8knots · 05-29-2006, 05:12 PM

Hmmm, the cold, the lack of oxygen in the water. Makes you wonder. I am not a clam expert, but I don't think they open wide when eating and purging either. I hope it works out, let us know.

fishinlady97140 · 05-29-2006, 05:16 PM

I'm inclined to agree with "cook em and if they don't open, chuck em."

No, 8knots, they don't full out open, but the neck comes out and is visible when they're feeding....you touch 'em and they contract back inside the shell.

rew · 12-06-2008, 11:45 PM

I have never been able to get them to purge to my satisfaction.

I always find sand in them somewhere... the only thing I've been able to do is steam them open then rinse them out, then prepare them in a dish. It's really unsatisfactory.

I even put them in one of my dungeness crab live boxes out in the bay, double bagged (to protect from crabs) for 2 weeks suspended above the ground, and they STILL HAD SAND!

I bought some at a grocery store one time and they had sand. So I think you've encountered one of the great paradoxes of life, you just happen to find it in a clam... heheh.

skiffman · 12-07-2008, 01:55 PM

We haven't had as much trouble with sand - we blanch them, which risks overcooking but may help with sand - but no luck getting them to purge their stomach contents. They'll keep a long time - think weeks - in a fridge still the same little black sack. Some folks don't mind, but was hoping we could get them to purge like the steamers you buy. Still tasty though - savory clam pasta, yummy !

fyshndad · 12-08-2008, 01:29 PM

My Dad used to put the clams in a bucket of seawater and a small bag of corn meal
The clams would replace the sand with the corn and when cooked they tasted great

boutdoorhunter · 12-08-2008, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fyshndad

My Dad used to put the clams in a bucket of seawater and a small bag of corn meal
The clams would replace the sand with the corn and when cooked they tasted great

Works good with muscles as well. Let them set a couple days in the fridge. Don't put them in anything that you want to keep clean because they will start to attach to the side of whatever they are in (Muscles that is).

rew · 12-11-2008, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fyshndad

My Dad used to put the clams in a bucket of seawater and a small bag of corn meal
The clams would replace the sand with the corn and when cooked they tasted great

Were you talking about varnish clams here? They don't seem to stretch out their neck like other clams or breathe in order to take in the corn meal or what have you. Cheers

fyshndad · 12-12-2008, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rew

Were you talking about varnish clams here? They don't seem to stretch out their neck like other clams or breathe in order to take in the corn meal or what have you. Cheers

Rew unfortunately my Dad has passed on so I can't ask him but I remember him calling them varnish clams
But to be truthful he often mis identified species of fish so maybe he was wrong about the name of the clams too

I do remember they had a purplish color

I personally have not been physically able to do much clamming for the last 15 years so my 1st hand knowlege is limited

skiffman · 12-12-2008, 09:29 AM

Thanks Fyshndad. Yeah, I haven't had a lot of luck with the corn meal method either. Here's a picture and some info on the purple varnish:

http://faculty.washington.edu/cemills/Nuttallia.html

We think them very good eating and like the fact they mostly come out of sand rather than mud. Also quite easy to dig although small.

fyshndad · 12-12-2008, 12:36 PM

Ok I read that then I dug a bit deeper into what is on that site

EVERYONE should read this ALL OF IT http://faculty.washingtonedu/cemills/conservation.html

rew · 12-12-2008, 04:32 PM

Thanks for the input. I'm going to try warming them up to a higher temperature to see if that will get them to flush out. It works on gaper clams to get them to stretch their necks out.